Bible passages used to support abortion?
Some people use Numbers 3:15 and Leviticus 27:6 as passages that support abortion. The reasoning is that since the baby is under one month old (the lowest age used in these passages), then it is OK to abort the baby. What is the Christian response to this?
The Bible verses of course do not in any way support abortion. The verses speak of the amount of money a person would pay the priests in order to redeem, to buy back, an infant who had been dedicated to the Lord in a solemn vow (Leviticus 27:6) and the minimum age for the census of the Levites that Moses was going to undertake (Number 3:15). The mere mention of children being one month old in these passages does not in any way suggest that human life that is less than one-month old is expendable and can be aborted. (I really have to wonder if those same people also think that the Bible verses in question give them God’s permission to kill infants up to their one-month birthday.)
Biblical references to children who were one-month old does not in any way mean that God did not consider them to be human beings until that point in life. Consider God’s command for baby boys to be circumcised when they were one week old (Leviticus 12:3). Consider how the Bible describes God’s involvement in giving us life in the womb (Psalm 139:13-16). Consider how in Exodus 21:22-24 God even spelled out the consequences for any injuries done to mothers and their unborn children. Notice how the phrase “life for life” in verse 23 reflects the truth that God views life in the womb as important of his protection as life at other stages.
The Christian response to people viewing Leviticus 27:6 and Numbers 3:15 as support for abortion is this: God considers human life precious, no matter at what stage it might be. God wants human life protected so that people can come into contact with his word and enjoy the converting work of the Holy Spirit. “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13) applies to the unborn, infants, the elderly and everyone in between.